CHAPTER 3. LEGAL ANALYSIS The theoretical and practical analysis of the information collected during the course of the undertaken activities, including the cases revealed during the investigation of this or another application or complaint by the Office and the reasons and conditions that have caused those cases, as well as received relevant proposals, recommendations and effective and draft legislative acts, and the summarization of the achieved results constitute one of the main directions of the Azerbaijani NPM’s activity. This also includes regular analysis of international best practices and work style and achievements of NPMs of various countries and application of advanced tools to the NPM work. As a result of the conducted legal analysis, the Commissioner regularly sends her proposals and recommendations with regard to both legislative and organizational issues to the relevant state bodies, which are eventually settled. As in previous years, in 2012 the preparation of proposals to strengthen the legal framework with regard to the Commissioner’s NPM mandate was a part of the mentioned work. Though there are still some issues which need to be resolved35, important achievements were made in this direction in the reporting period36. Moreover, the year 2012 is remarkable for the improvement, based on the Commissioner’s proposals among others, of the effective normative legal acts to more reliably ensure prevention of torture. It should be primarily mentioned that the Commissioner, both in her previous NPM report and relevant correspondences, has stated that it was important to ensure more comprehensive legal regulation of the establishments where suspected and accused persons are detained, as well as the rights and freedoms of the individuals held in those places, as such it was necessary to accelerate the adoption of the relevant law. Ultimately, on 22 May 2012 the Law on Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of the Individuals Held in Detention Facilities37 was enacted. This Law defines detained, arrested, and convicted persons, specifies the types of detention facilities and regime rules in those facilities, and regulates the legal status of individuals held in detention facilities, regime, and state and public control. The Law also has effective leverage for combating torture. Article 22 of the given Law stipulates that immediately after entry to a detention facility a detained or arrested person’s complaint about their bodily injuries or any torture, inhuman or degrading treatment they had been subjected to before admittance to the detention facility shall be recorded, they shall be examined by the medical personnel of the detention facility within 24 hours from the detention, the findings of the 35 E.g. proposals regarding the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Azerbaijan. See: Chapter 1.1 hereof. 37 Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of the Individuals Held in Detention Facilities (22.05.2012, No. 352-IVQ) 36 36